Fears of an accident on Old Mountain Road continue as drivers avoiding longer detours continue to inundate the road while the local Council issued a other reminder yesterday that the road is closed to through traffic. Children use the road to walk to school in Waitetuna and residents report that they’re worried about how many people are using the road and the excessive speed from drivers who are unfamiliar with the road.
SH23 is due to reopen at the end of the month and the recent week of good weather hopefully means they’re on target to get the work done on time.
The surf has officially described as Epic today by Surfline forecaster James Fraserhurst so it’s lucky that LAWA changed the status of the water to safe for swimming earlier this week. The harbour has also been downgraded from Don't Swim to Caution following the positive E coli test taken near the campground a couple of weeks ago.
While we wait for SH23 to reopen SH39 the main road to Kawhia also has a few problems with an underslip endangering access to that community. Workers are pouring concrete down the crack this week with a more long term solution to follow up.
Concern about the construction of a 5G mobile tower by the water tower on Norrie Ave has hit local social media this week. This was flagged at a community board meeting last year and while there is a great deal of opposition within the community, communication companies have a legal right to install communication equipment alongside the road. Vodafone’s main priority was to install it near some trees so it wouldn’t be visible to people driving down the main road.
In sports news it has been announced that the Rip Curl Pro is Returning to Raglan for Twenty Third Edition this March on the weekend of the 18-19th.
Having missed out for 2 of the last 3 years the event has usually been the focal point of domestic surfing for over two decades with the perfect waves of Manu Bay matched bybest surfing talent in the country.
Dune Kennings (Piha) and Pia Rogers are looking to carry on their impressive start to the season after securing national titles at Piha in January. Kennings will come up against some tough competition from the local surfers like Caleb Cutmore who won the NZ Surf Series in 2022 and defending event champion (2021) Taylor Hutchison who will lead the way for Raglan.
And lastly the Karioi Sheep Dog Trial is happening this Friday and Saturday. Several hundred sheep are currently being prepared for the trial, which will be held at 143 Pond Road.
Competitors will be attempting to control sheep in events like the Long Head, the Short Head and Yard, and Huntaway courses like the Zig Zag Hunt and spectators are welcome.
And that is the Raglan news for Wednesday 22nd February 2023.